A Department of Energy official clashed with House Republicans on Thursday over President Joe Biden’s natural gas export review pause and said approving new projects now could open the administration to legal peril.
Brad Crabtree, head of the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, defended the administration’s January pause in the face of mounting Republican criticism.
“The liquefied natural gas pause sends the wrong message to the world, as do other clearly political decisions against U.S. energy interests,” said Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas), chair of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy and Regulatory Affairs, during a hearing.
Crabtree said previous analyses of the economic and climate effects of LNG exports are outdated and that issuing approvals now would make them legally vulnerable.
